Brotherly Interference
by The Melon Lord Approves
Summary: Kataang feat. Sokka. An overprotective older brother is on the prowl...


**Title-** Brotherly Interference  
**Rating-** K+  
**Characters/Pairings-** Kataang  
**Genre(s)-** fluff fluff fluff fluff...  
**Summary-** Kataang feat. Sokka. An overprotective older brother is on the prowl...

**A/N-** This is so far from my actual headcanon about how all this went down, it might as well be living in the Northern Water Tribe. It doesn't fit with any of my other mental timelines for the series. Like, at all. It's also rather different from what I usually write, somehow. But it's also cute and therefore it had to be put down. And since it had to be put down it had to be shared with you, because I refuse to be the only one drowning in Kataang feels (even if they're stupid fluffy feels).

New Fireflight is coming. I promise. I've kind of been in this headspace where I'm thinking so much about what I'll be doing with Book 3 that it has been hard to focus on Book 1, but it's coming soon.

* * *

If there was one thing that could be said about both Aang and Katara, it was that they were quick studies. It had applied to mastering their bending disciplines, and it applied to their relationship as well. At least, once their relationship got properly underway. Despite all the troubles they had had while struggling with their growing feelings during the war, once the crisis was over they fell into their relationship easily and naturally. It seemed so obvious to both of them. The war was over, so of course- _of course_- they would be together now.

And, like the quick studies they were, they took a decidedly "practice makes perfect" approach to their new favorite pastime: kissing.

In the weeks following their first "real" kiss in Ba Sing Se, they took to exploring this exciting new facet of their relationship the way... well, the way a waterbender takes to the ocean. This came as a surprise to absolutely no one who knew them, and their friends were very indulgent regarding their occasional tendencies to forget they were in public.

All of their friends, that is, except Sokka.

It was something of a point of contention between Katara and her brother, and had been ever since he interrupted that very first kiss and proceeded to freak out more than just a little. While their other friends simply smiled and rolled their eyes when Aang would kiss her hello or Katara would pull him off to some other room for a little privacy, Sokka made no secret that he wasn't exactly thrilled to be witness to their romance. And it all came to a boiling point just over a month after Katara and Aang cemented the change in their relationship.

The three of them were traveling to Omashu in order to attend another peace summit hosted by King Bumi, and they had camped for the night in a little patch of scrub-land just a day's flight out from the city. Sokka had gone to gather firewood, and upon his return to camp, he had found himself once again receiving unrestricted access to the sight of his sister making out with the Avatar.

"Oh _for_- Katara, please! For the love of all that is good and right, can you _please_ try to keep your hands off Aang for five minutes at a time?"

Katara and Aang, who had been very thoroughly not paying attention, both jumped in surprise and sprang apart.

"Jeez, make a noise, would you?" Katara exclaimed crossly. "You're gonna give me a heart attack!"

"_I'm_ going to give _you_ a heart attack?" Sokka shot back. "Do you have any idea what it does to my poor eyes when they have to see you doing... doing _that?_"

"Um, guys?" Aang piped up, trying as usual to mediate between the siblings, but Sokka was too grossed out and Katara too worked up for either of them to pay him any attention.

"Please," Katara said with a roll of her eyes. "Any time you're within a mile of Suki, I get treated to exactly the same thing."

"I do not-!"

"Yes you do! And let me tell you, I am _sick_ of this double standard!"

Sokka dropped his arm-load of firewood abruptly, crossing his arms defensively. "Hey, that's not fair! Look, Katara, it's not that I'm not happy for you. I am. But the thing is, you're still my little sister, and-"

"And _what?_" Katara snapped back at him. "You want to "protect me?" You want to "guard my virtue" or something? Well, I'll have you know, we're not doing _anything_ Dad wouldn't approve of! We have more respect for each other than that. And even if we were, it wouldn't matter! What I do with Aang is his business and my business and no one else's! I'm really tired of you treating me and Aang like little kids about this, like I don't know any better, because we're not and I do and I love him!"

Abruptly, she broke off her tirade and snapped her mouth shut, her face suffusing with red. She shot a faintly panicked look at Aang, who was gazing back at her with wide eyes, and it suddenly occurred to Sokka that that might not be something she had admitted out loud before.

"Um... I was just gonna say that I don't want to have to _see_ it," he said quietly, even though clearly neither of them was listening. Wisely deciding that this was a battle best fought another day, he added, "I um... think we need some kindling. Yeah. I'm just gonna... go get some." He made a swift exit from the clearing.

Aang seemed to have been frozen to the spot by Katara's unexpected declaration, but shortly after Sokka's attempt at a tactful departure, he seemed to regain his sense of self. He crossed the two or three feet between them and reached out tentatively to take her hand. Katara, still blushing absolutely scarlet, was staring at her feet, completely unable to meet his eyes.

"Did you mean that?" he asked, nerves and hopefulness mixed in his tone.

She bit her lip and nodded. "I've loved you for a long time," she confessed in a near-whisper. "I didn't always realize that's what I was feeling, but after Azula shot you down I just... it was harder to deny it after that, you know?"

"I know what you mean," he said, matching her soft tone.

"Those last few months, before the comet... I was scared to death, for- well, for a lot of reasons, but it didn't help at all that I practically had a meltdown every time you looked at me."

Awed, humbled by the realization of just how deep her feelings for him ran, Aang reached out to take her other hand as well. "Wow," he murmured.

"Yep," she mumbled, sounding embarrassed. "I, um... I didn't mean to just blurt that out like that. I'm sorry. I've wanted to tell you this whole time, but I was kind of planning to wait to tell you until you'd caught up."

"Caught up?"

"Yeah. I mean, we've only been together a month," she said with a self-conscious laugh, "and here I am admitting I've been in love with you for ages and I just... I don't mean to pressure you or-"

"Katara!" he interrupted. "Look at me."

With some difficulty, she raised her still-flushed face to meet his eyes. He gave her hands a gentle squeeze.

"Katara, I love you, too. I've been falling for you since the moment we met," he told her earnestly. "This whole time, I've been waiting on _you_ to catch up!"

"No!" she gasped, laughter in her voice.

He shrugged, turning a little pink. "Even though we've been together since Ba Sing Se... I guess it's still really nice to know that I wasn't imagining this thing between us during the war."

"Definitely not your imagination," she agreed in a low voice, leaning closer even as she spoke so that she sealed the last word with a kiss. Aang's arms went around her as he enthusiastically returned her kisses.

A few moments later, Sokka peeked around a tree and, upon seeing the goings-on in the camp site, he simply rolled his eyes with an amused smile on his lips and wandered off into the woods for just awhile longer.


End file.
